Books like Wishful Thinking

There are some books, like Love Wins by Rob Bell, that jolt you with their glamour and hype into thinking about familiar topics in ways you hadn't before. There are other books, like Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller that soothe you with their smooth prose and lyrical lines into thinking that you're not alone in questioning familiar topics. Then there are books like Wishful Thinking by Frederick Beuchner that grab you by the heart- simultaneously jolting and soothing (while making you laugh out loud along the way). Organized like a dictionary, Wishful Thinking, takes common Christianese and breathes new life into worn out words like charity, agnostic, sanctification, disciple, parable, doubt, righteousness, and many more. Buechner, pronounced "Beekner" (I know this because he gave himself an entry in the book), authors a book that could rival even Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary for wit and Charles Spurgeon for spiritual depth. In his author's note, Buechner says Wishful Thinking is a Doubter's Dictionary. In fact, it's a dictionary for the believer as well as the unbeliever and for anyone who loves to laugh.One of my favorite things about this book is how willing Buechner is to point out the ironies and inconsistencies of everything Christians hold dear. On theology (and he himself a theologian) he says, "Theology is the study of God and his ways. For all we know, dung beetles may study us and our ways and call it humanology. If so, we would probably be more touched and amused than irritated. One hopes that God feels likewise." And while much of the book is lighthearted, he never shies away from cutting his reader to the quick. On grace he says, "The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you." Exactly.